OFFICE OF THE MAYOR
CITY OF CHICAGO
RAHM EMANUEL
MAYOR
March 16,2016
TO THE HONORABLE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO
Ladies and Gentlemen:
At the request of the Commissioner of Streets and Sanitation, I transmit herewith, together with Aldermen Ramirez-Rosa, Santiago, Waguespack, Mell and Austin, an ordinance amending Chapter 7-12 of the Municipal Code regarding pet waste.
Your favorable consideration of this ordinance will be appreciated.
Very truly yours,
Mayor
ORDINANCE
WHEREAS, The City of Chicago is a home-rule unit of government as defined in Article VII, Section 6 (a) of the Illinois Constitution, and, as such, may exercise any power and perform any function pertaining to its government and affairs; and
WHEREAS, The number of rodent-related complaints entered in the City's 311 system has steadily increased in recent years - from 32,855 in 2014 to 36,425 in 2015; and
WHEREAS, The number of rodent-related complaints has continued to rise in the year 2016, maintaining a pace to reach roughly 50,000 by the end of the year; and
WHEREAS, The pest control company Orkin named Chicago the #1 "rattiest" city in the nation in 2013 and 2014, as determined by the number of rodent treatments done by the company in each year; and
WHEREAS, One of rodents' main food sources in the City is the pet excrement they find in alleys, yards, and front lawns; and
WHEREAS, One of the City's most effective methods of combating rodents is containerization - because residents receiving City garbage service are given heavy duty plastic carts with tight fitting lids to contain garbage, they are able to cut off one of the main sources of food in an urban rat's diet; now therefore,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO:
SECTION 1. Section 7-12-420 of the Municipal Code of Chicago is hereby amended by deleting the language struck through and inserting the language underscored, as follows:
7-12-420 Removal of excrement.
No person shall appear with a pet upon the public ways or within public places or upon the property of another, absent that person's consent, without some means for the removal of excrement; nor shall any such person fail to remove any excrement deposited by such pet. Feces from pets deposited upon any private property must be collected and removed daily by the property's owner or agent, by bagging and placing them in a City-issued or other rodent-resistant lidded waste container. This section shall not apply to a blind person while walking his or her guide dog.
Any person found to have been in violation of this section shall be fined not less than $50.00 nor more than $500.00 for each offense.
SECTION 2. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect upon passage and approval.